Tha sin mar bhàs.

[hollystrike]

Who: Katie and you!
Broadcast: Yes!
Action: Planetside
When: Now-ish

[Amusement Park]

[So this is where she goes when she wants time to think, apparently.  The bunker is a place she won't enter; between the heavy aftermath of a mass death and the understandably stricken reactions of its visitors, the atmosphere is far too toxic.  But it doesn't mean she isn't grieving.  The deaths could not be helped and are god knows how far in the past, but the fact that these people have been forgotten - not acknowledged even by this automated town, let alone the rest of space - is something that sits very poorly.  She can't even change anything about the town to reflect its population's final days.

She's walking the rollercoaster tracks, very high up, thinking over the issue.  Don't ask how she got up that high.  And don't worry if you should be using the rollercoaster at the time; she can avoid you.  Might give you a bit of a scare, though, sorry.

Eventually, she puts a call through to Sam.]

[Outside of town]

[As far as she can go before she suspects (or hopes) she's outside the range of the city's replication science so her work isn't scrubbed.  She's not too far from the bunker; it would be pointless if she were too far away from it. 

She finds a rock face smooth enough, and between a thick blade and Kirito's lightsaber she carves a memorial.  Maybe nobody will ever see it, but if any other visitors come to this place, they should know what happened.  It's worth the extra headache.]

[And Broadcast]

I've decided to quit making dreamcatchers and move on to voodoo dolls instead.  It's more fun.  So if you'd like to take one before I end up throwing them all out, feel free.

[Just so you know.  Totally honest, as usual.  Less cheerful than normal.

If anyone wants her she'll be curled up in her office with Licorice on her lap.  She's so tired of these planets.]

Comments

[hollystrike]

[It's the awkwardness that makes Katie decide not to press more about them-- well, not in the way she would have as a child, anyway. Are they still alive? She suspects the answer is no.

Especially not if Sorey is the Shepherd now. There's generally only one, isn't there...?]

Who found you? [She's sifting through vague memories; calibrations brought her some information there, which was also painful.] Your grandfather? Or-- Gramps?

[Not grandfather by blood, she assumes.]

[tsunergy]

Not exactly. My mother brought me to him after I'd been reborn as a seraph- she wanted him to take care of me, while she...

[He trails off, lips pursing; he's giving the story in half-parts, and that's bound to get confusing. It's not fair to her when she's offering to hear him out.

Shaking his head, he tries again.]

The village, Camlann, is where the seraph Maotelus resided- he's the leader of the Five Lords, essentially the protector of the whole continent. It was under attack by two rival countries vying for the territory in between. Innocent people were being killed, the land was growing corrupted... even Maotelus was affected.

[It's strange to describe it- to relive it, in a sense, the way he had back then, watching it unfold before his eyes. The scent of burning houses, the screams of the townsfolk, the blood soaking into the ground, it's all impossible to forget. In that kind of environment, what seraph would be able to remain pure? The whole place had reeked of desperation.

He reaches out and gently tugs Lucen into his lap, stroking the cat's fur as his voice drops.]

My uncle used me as a sacrifice to curse the man he felt was responsible for it all, and that curse trapped Maotelus in malevolence he couldn't endure. It started the new Age of Chaos that Sorey brought an end to after almost twenty years.

[In other words, his family did a Bad Thing.]

[hollystrike]

[Maotelus is a name that tugs at her memory, and it takes her a long moment of trying to work out why. It brings to mind a field, and pooling malevolence, and--

--oh, this isn't her memory. It's Mikleo's, lifted from a dream he shouldn't have been forced into having.]

Your world has been very harsh to the two of you, hasn't it? [She wonders if he remembers her poking around in his head. Some don't.

There's a gentle pat-pat on Mikleo's leg. Licorice wants up, surely you have room for two.]

[tsunergy]

I think the world is harsh to everyone. It's sort of the nature of things. We survived it a lot better than many others have.

[Or in his case, was given a second chance to live it. A third, if you count surviving the process of separating Heldalf from Maotelus. They'd all halfway expected to die in that fight.

He's small, but his lap is still big enough for two cats, so he nudges Lucen over to make room until she can curl up. He's got two hands for petting, so he'll put them to work. Despite his dismissive tone, he kind of looks like he needs them there.]

I'm sorry if I'm oversharing. That isn't my intent.

[Not just with words- she gets flashes of things sometimes, he knows, like the whole thing with Sam, and his own dragon-related issues. He doesn't want to burden her with more, but he can't help what she sees, either.]

[hollystrike]

[Looking like he needs it is exactly why Katie suggested Licorice do it. Not in as many words, of course. (Or any words at all.)]

Well, you are in a supposed counsellor's office. [She keeps her tone light. It's okay, Mikleo. Oversharing is generally what happens around pooka, anyway.] Does Sorey know all this?

[tsunergy]

[Yeah, that's fair. Counselling isn't something he knows much about - Edna isn't exactly a stellar example, and it's not a common concept in his world - so this is pretty new for him.]

He knows. He saw it all with me- he was born in that same village, the day that everyone else died. Gramps and my mother found him as she was handing me over. It's why we were raised together.

[hollystrike]

For someone to be born into such chaos and turn out how Sorey has is a small miracle in itself, isn't it? [She smiles faintly.]

At least you didn't have to grow up alone. That's the best defense against harsh worlds, I think. Finding silver clouds among all the linings.

[Not quite how the saying goes, but she's pushing a little too close to honesty as it is.]

[tsunergy]

Mmm... yes, we were lucky.

[At times he struggled with that, because there have been plenty of hardships since (and indeed because of) those incidents, but... well, they did have a good life together. It was just far too short.]

I think it's why we don't really talk about it. It sort of feels like- it wasn't really us, so it hardly matters. Camlann wasn't our home, and our parents didn't raise us- Gramps and those in Elysia did. We lost a few strangers and the idea of another life we may have shared. It's sad, but... I don't know.

[hollystrike]

Yes, well. "Blood is thicker than water" is a full and complete saying where I'm from, and I've always found it rubbish. [At least these days, it's easier to tell herself that.]

It's a could-have-would-have-maybe. Interesting to think about sometimes, and maybe it might have been nice, but what you have is no poor substitute.

[tsunergy]

Mm, true enough. And I'm comforted with the idea that whether the calamity had happened or not, we'd still have grown up together. He's more important to me than the rest of it.

[Not that he'll often say that out loud, but.]

[hollystrike]

Some things are just due to happen one way or another. When it's one of the nice things, it's such a blessing. [She smiles.] I don't have anyone like that.

[tsunergy]

[Ah... well, damn.]

I'm sorry- I came here to help you, but I've just talked about myself the whole time. That must be difficult for you at times...

[hollystrike]

[After a faintly startled look, she gives him a rueful smile.]

Are you taking me too seriously again?

[And he's helping a whole lot. It's nice to have someone to just talk to.]

[tsunergy]

[Mikleo huffs quietly, looking torn.]

Probably. But that just means I'm being sincere, surely.

[hollystrike]

[She laughs softly.]

There's nothing wrong with sincerity. Or so I'd imagine.

Let me try again. On opposites day, I don't have anyone like that.

[tsunergy]

[Ah- hmm. Maybe he's misunderstood the rules again... tentatively, he smiles.]

Looks like I still have plenty to learn.

[hollystrike]

[The problem with the rules is there are no rules.]

On the bright side, running out of things to learn would make for a very dismal realisation.

[tsunergy]

[He grins, finally releasing Lucen from his lap; the kitten swats Licorice playfully and goes running off, trying to begin the game anew.]

You, Miss Katie, are a fount of wisdom for young spirits.

[And more seriously, because to an extent he can recognize what she did-]

Thank you.

[hollystrike]

[Licorice is only too happy to oblige, though she takes her sweet time stretching before stepping off Mikleo's lap.]

Oh! I do like being thought of as wise. [She grins. It helps being such a contrary bitch.]

Thank you.